On Sept. 22, after 16 months of delays, Project Greenlight winner John Gulager’s wry ick-fest Feast hits theaters for a limited run of midnight showings. Why limited? Well, in what appears to be a new twist on the old dumping game, Dimension plans to release the Feast DVD on Oct. 17 — ironically, it seems, because of the movie’s bloody-good buzz with the fanboy set (see our review).

It’s a fitting end to the Saga of Gulager, which began with the awkward director nearly getting fired on PG and continued through January of this year when the film’s original date came and went. Yet those involved — Gulager, PG exec producer Chris Moore, and Dimension’s Bob Weinstein — have managed to find this plan’s silver lining. ”It’s a very specific audience, the hardcore fans, and [they] translate into a huge video presence” is how Weinstein explains his insta-DVD strategy. Moore acts like he’s accepted this as the best possible result. ”I think [Bob] believes there’s a big upside in the video, and I think he’s right,” he sighs. ”That’s why I can’t be mad at him.” As for Googs? He’s ready to move on — almost. ”I have to get people to come see it,” he says, even making a half-joking promise to personally appear at any theater that extends its run. ”People went out on a limb to get me the job. And I hope that they feel it paid off.” Right now, it looks that way: When asked if he’d work with Gulager again, Weinstein replies, ”I guarantee it.”